Determining and reviewing an exclusion from automatically triggered Vulnerable Welfare Payment Recipient (VWPR) Youth Income Management and enhanced Income Management by social workers 103-01180040

The following customers who live in a VWPR declared Income Management area or enhanced IM location will automatically be identified for VWPR Youth IM or enhanced IM if they are aged:

• under 16 years and getting Special Benefit (SpB-USY)
• 16 years or over and getting an independent rate of Youth Allowance (YA), Disability Support Pension (DSP) or ABSTUDY Living Allowance due to meeting the Unreasonable to Live at Home (UTLAH) criteria, or
• under 25 years and received a Crisis Payment (CrP) in the last 13 weeks due to prison or release from psychiatric confinement

Customers will not be identified for welfare quarantining if they are a full time student or Australian Apprentice, or currently on Voluntary Income Management or enhanced Income Management.

Customers will be eligible for an exclusion from welfare quarantining if they have received less than 25% of their maximum basic rate of payment for at least 4 out of the last 6 fortnights.

VWPR Youth IM customers will be automatically granted an exclusion by the system.

VWPR Youth enhanced IM customers will have their exclusion coding completed by enhanced IM manual processing staff.

Non-payment periods or reduced rates of payment due to non-compliance are not included when determining eligibility. However, customers may ask to be assessed for this exclusion if they believe they meet this criterion.

The Income Management Exemption and Assessment Team (IMEAT) are responsible for determining an exclusion from VWPR Youth IM due to rate of payment.

Enhanced IM processing staff who have additional ISP access and are trained in manual processes are responsible for determining an exclusion from VWPR Youth enhanced IM due to rate of payment.

See, Determining and exclusion from Vulnerable Welfare Payment Recipient (VWPR Youth) Income Management and enhanced Income Management.

The above exclusion does not require a social worker assessment.

Social workers may determine a VWPR Youth customer is eligible for an exclusion for the following reasons:

• Welfare quarantining would place the customer's mental, physical or emotional wellbeing at risk, includes situations where a customer:
• cannot meaningfully engage with the agency due to mental health issues, or
• does not have the capacity to comprehend the operation of IM or enhanced IM, or
• is experiencing serious instability in their housing or living situation and IM or enhanced IM would substantially impair their ability to meet housing costs
• Welfare quarantining is 'Not Practicable due to Support & Demonstrated Capacity' as the customer has been on VWPR Youth IM or enhanced IM for 12 months, and they have:
• successfully engaged in a supportive relationship that provided mentoring, coaching or case management that included a transition to independence, or
• demonstrated the skills and ability to manage their money and to live independently, and
• satisfied the social worker that they are likely to continue participating in appropriate activities/supportive arrangements and therefore do not need to continue to have their payments welfare quarantined

If customers do not meet the exclusion criteria, they may still request an exclusion from welfare quarantining. If a VWPR Youth customer requests an exclusion this is to be assessed and the outcome documented.

If a VWPR Youth exclusion assessment is not undertaken, the social worker must clearly outline the reasons for this and include details of discussion with the customer and any other support provided.

Exclusions from VWPR can be requested under this measure every 90 days.

After completing a VWPR Youth exclusion assessment, the social worker must record the outcome of the exclusion assessment, whether granting or rejecting the application.

The outcome of all IM exclusion assessments are recorded through the Vulnerable Youth IM exclusion workflow.

The outcome of enhanced IM exclusion assessments are documented and referred back to enhanced IM staff trained in manual processes to action through a Manual Follow Up (MFU) activity.

Social Work Information System (SWIS) reports are also required. See Recording Vulnerable Welfare Payment Recipient (VWPR) assessments for Income Management or enhanced IM – social work.

Although not compulsory, IM customers granted exclusions can choose to attend a Disbursement interview with a Service Officer. At this interview, the discussion will include, among other things, how any residual IM funds are to be disbursed, and the option to continue with Voluntary enhanced IM (if eligible). If customers do not make contact to discuss the disbursement of their residual IM funds the Auto Disbursement rules will apply.

If a social worker determines the customer is eligible for an exclusion, they will exclude the customer from VWPR Youth for a period of 12 months. A new exclusion assessment is required if the exclusion is to be granted for a further 12 months.

Social workers can end the exclusion period early if required, which may result in the customer being eligible for welfare quarantining, providing they meet all eligibility criteria. An exclusion assessment must be completed if ending prior to the 12 month period.

Note: customers granted an exclusion because welfare quarantining would place their wellbeing at risk may be automatically excluded from welfare quarantining under the Disengaged Youth (DEY) and Long Term Welfare Payment Recipients (LTWPR) measures during this period.

Customers welfare quarantined under VWPR Youth can request to exit I if they:

• no longer meet the Unreasonable to Live at Home (UTLAH) criteria of independence
• do not receive Special Benefit under 16 years of age (SpB-USY), or
• are over 25 years of age

An appropriately trained Service Officer or social worker can exit customers from VWPR Youth in these circumstances.

For more details see Exclusions for automatically triggered VWPR Youth Income Management and enhanced Income Management for Service Officers.

The original determination establishes the customer is eligible for the automatically triggered VWPR Youth measure. The system determines this, it is not a social worker decision.

The normal review and appeal process applies. Customers can at any time request an explanation or apply for a formal review of the original determination to apply VWPR Youth.

A Subject Matter Expert (SME) will provide an explanation. An Authorised Review Officer (ARO) will undertake a formal review.

Customers can request an explanation or apply for a formal review of the social worker's decision to reject a request for an exclusion from automatically triggered VWPR Youth.

Under the review and appeal process:

• a SME social worker who was not the original decision maker will
• explain the exclusion decision to the customer, and
• determine if the customer's exclusion assessment is correct
• an ARO will undertake a formal review of an exclusion decision

Restrictions on the customer requesting another exclusion from VWPR Youth (once every 90 days) does not stop the customer from applying for a formal review of the original determination.

Note: a new Social Worker Information System (SWIS) VWPR report is required if new information is provided, and the original decision is to be set aside.

When a VWPR Youth customer moves out of a declared Income Management area or enhanced IM location, they will remain on VWPR Youth subject to the same rules that would have applied if they had remained in the IM declared area or enhanced IM location.

Their eligible welfare payments will remain quarantined for at least 12 months, unless one of the following occurs:

• A social worker grants an exclusion from VWPR Youth
• The customer no longer has one of the eligible triggers, and requests to be exited from VWPR Youth
• The customer loses eligibility for VWPR Youth in another way, such as:
• their qualifying trigger payment is cancelled, and they are not restored/re-granted within 13 weeks of cancellation
• they have an excluded payment nominee, or
• they become eligible for a measure higher in the hierarchy